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March asking prices rise at 1.3%

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Published: 30 March 2017

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The average asking price for homes rose by the same amount in March 2017 – 1.3% - as it did the same month last year.

Given the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, this is remarkable given the market this time last year was powered by frantic purchasing of buy-to-let properties ahead of the rise in stamp duty on 1st April.

According to Rightmove, the price rise of past month has only been exceeded once since 2007 during this time of the year.

Rightmove director, Miles Shipside said: “Since the start of the decade, the average March price rise has been 0.9 per cent so this month’s 1.3 per cent uplift is an indicator of a shortage of suitable property for sale in many parts of the country, with strong demand for the right property at the right price.”

However this news was offset by news that the annual price rise was 2.3%, which is a third of the level the same time last year.

In regional terms, asking price rises in the Midlands are currently beating all other areas in terms of price increases.

“The pace is no longer being set by the more affluent commuter-belt south, including London with its international appeal. Neither is it set by the cheaper north driven by a mass of investors swooping on high buy-to-let yields.

“As markets in other areas of the country become more mature and run out of price-rise steam and froth, the fundamentals of the Midlands have come to the fore,” concluded Shipside.